Silence Is a Falling Body

Agustina Comedi's 2017 Argentine documentary was built from home videos shot by her father, Jaime. He filmed his family for years; after he died in an accident the tapes passed to his daughter, and traces of an untold life emerged from them. Comedi learns that in his youth her father was gay and was also involved in left-wing political organising. In Argentina under the dictatorship both identities were dangerous, and at some point Jaime gave up both, married and closed off his past. The documentary does not present that closing as a betrayal. Through the accounts of her father's friends it conveys what survival cost in that period, who disappeared and who stayed silent. The testimony of La Delpi is the strongest section. Who it's for: those curious about archive-based documentary and queer history in Latin America. Who it's not for: viewers bothered by home-video picture quality; the film is made almost entirely from that material.